Heart to Change of Heart
by Crittab
Summary: Annie drops by Jeff's place after Vicki's party to talk about his dad and the ring girl.


**Title:** Heart to Change of Heart

**Rating:** PG

**Warnings:** Spoilers for "Paranormal Parentage"

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Community, yo

**Summary:** Annie drops by Jeff's place after Vicki's party to talk about his dad and the ring girl.

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**Heart to Change of Heart**

Jeff laid on top of his covers, staring at the cracks in his ceiling and feeling like an absolute tool. If he'd been thinking ahead, he might have changed out of his ridiculous costume before sitting down to call his dad. He might have even thought about what he would say to the older man when he got him on the phone. Heck, he might have done the bright thing and _not called him in the first place_.

But such was the case when he let Britta get to him. Now he was just laying there, his phone in four pieces, laying broken and dejected on the floor of his bedroom after being thrown against the wall in a panic that could just as easily have been handled by hanging up.

But, you know... hindsight.

He just didn't know what to do when he heard the man's voice for the first time in almost 30 years. He probably should have anticipated that he would be home, being that it was nearly 11:30 on a Wednesday night, but for some reason the word, "Hello," had startled him to the point where he literally lost his mind and flung the phone away as if it had been burning him. Honestly, in that moment, it _did_ feel like it was burning him.

Still. Hanging up would probably have been a more reasonable measure.

He sighed deeply and brought his fingers to his forehead, attempting to massage away the ache that had started to come in liberally, when he heard an entirely unwelcome knock at his door.

_If that's the Dean, this isn't going to end well,_ Jeff thought to himself, groaning as he slid off the bed and stomped to the door. He peeked through the peephole, seriously considering ignoring the caller if it was the Dean. He sighed in relief when he saw who it really was.

"I thought you went to Vicki's party," he commented, stepping out of the way so Annie could enter. She'd thankfully left the "Ring" girl costume at home, opting to slick her hair back in a high pony tail and pair it with a long trench coat.

"I did, but Leonard and the Hipsters found the address and ended up getting the place shut down by the cops almost instantly," she explained, heading for the couch while Jeff shut and locked the door. He joined her, shucking the silk housecoat as he went. If Annie was fazed by his relative nudity, it didn't show.

"And you came here?" he asked.

"Well, first I went home..." she said, shifting to face him more directly. "Where I talked to Britta."

"Ah-ha," Jeff sighed, slouching a little further.

"I thought you weren't going to tell anyone about your dad," she probed.

"I wasn't going to," he clarified. "But you know how Britta gets. You find yourself telling her just about anything to make her shut up."

"So you told her about the number?" Annie questioned. Jeff nodded, his head low. "And..." she needled.

"And... I called him," Jeff admitted quietly. Annie's eyebrows raised, but that was her only visible reaction to the news.

"How'd that go?" Jeff let out a dry laugh at that.

"Ask my phone... or what's left of it." Annie's brow furrowed, and Jeff frowned. "I couldn't say anything. He answered, and I panicked." He shifted to look at her. "What do you say, Annie? What do you say to the guy who abandoned you when you were eight?" She offered a sad smile and reached out to take his hand in hers.

"You say whatever you need to say, Jeff. And if you don't know what that is, then you say nothing at all." His look was skeptical. "You don't have to have all of the answers right now. It was a big step just to start looking for him, let alone actually calling him."

"I shouldn't have done it tonight," Jeff said firmly, squeezing her hand a little unconsciously. "I just wasn't thinking."

"Hey, it's okay," Annie attempted.

"I shouldn't have said anything to Britta," he pushed. "When it was just you, it was fine. You _get it_. You didn't push, you just let me do things at my own pace." Annie bristled a little at that.

"Did Britta push you to call him tonight?" Jeff shook his head.

"No, not really. It's just easier to blame her because she's the worst." Annie quirked a small grin at that, but didn't comment.

"Look, maybe it's a good thing that you're starting to tell other people. If everyone knows, then when you do decide to call and actually _talk_ to him, you'll have six people here to support you rather than just one." Jeff considered that.

"I would have been fine with the one, I think," he admitted quietly. Annie offered a small smile.

"Well, as flattering as that is, it still can't hurt to have a little back-up." Jeff nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I guess I have been dumping a lot on you lately," he admitted. "Sorry."

"No!" Annie exclaimed. "God no, don't apologize. I'm just saying that it's alright to bring the rest of the group into the fold here. They love you, Jeff. We all do." Jeff smiled lightly at that.

"Yeah, I know," he agreed. "Still. Things were easier when it was just you and me." Annie laughed lightly at that.

"Yeah, speaking of that..." she let her sentence trail a bit before continuing. "I think people are starting to get suspicious. The whole couples costume was maybe not the best idea." Jeff rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, 'cause nothing says, "We're sleeping together!" like you dressed up as the actual girl from _The Ring_," he teased. "Which, by the way, I thought we were pretty clear about when we made our plans."

"We were. But if we really want to keep this thing between us under wraps, we need to be more careful, Jeff," she scolded lightly. "If we keep acting like a couple in front of everyone, they're going to figure it out."

"So let them," Jeff cut in. "Who cares?"

"I thought _you_ cared." She crossed her arms skeptically.

"I did," Jeff allowed. "But maybe I don't care so much anymore. People can change their minds." Annie raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Don't 'what' me, Jeff Winger. You've been more uptight about this whole _relationship_ thing than you are about the kind of coat hangers you use."

"I'm going to let that one slide because I'm not about to explain to you _again_ why wooden hangers are necessary to maintain the integrity of the clothes," Jeff began. Annie offered an amused grin, which settled him slightly. "Look, Annie... I don't want to hide that we're together, I just don't want to go through the hassle of announcing it to the group like it's a big thing. I mean, look at Troy and Britta – Shirley's already going full Mama Bear on them. Do you really want her to do that to you too?"

"Umm, hate to burst your bubble, Babe, but Shirley's been going 'full Mama Bear' on me since the day we met." Jeff sighed.

"Okay, you may have a point... I just figured, if we keep acting like a couple, eventually it'll just be assumed and we can get around the inevitable awkwardness of the _big reveal_," Jeff explained. Annie sighed lightly and relented.

"Alright," she conceded. "We'll do it your way."

"We don't have to," he said quickly. "Annie, if you want to tell them, I'll march into Greendale tomorrow wearing an "I love Annie" t-shirt and give a full-on Winger Speech about it." Annie laughed lightly at that.

"You would?" she asked. Jeff shifted a little closer and wrapped her hand up in both of his.

"Annie, I meant it when I told you that I was all in on this. If you want to go public then I'll do it. Just say the word." Annie smiled at how genuine he seemed, and leaned forward to give him a small kiss.

"I appreciate that, Jeff," she said quietly, before offering a conspiratorial grin. "But I'm okay with having it be a secret for a little while longer... it does make it kind of fun." Jeff chuckled.

"Who knew you had such a naughty streak?" he teased. She shrugged one shoulder and smiled innocently, before pulling away from him and standing up. He watched her go a little confusedly.

"I'm just full of surprises." She grinned and tugged open the belt of her trench coat.

"Yeah?" Jeff asked, narrowing his eyes as she pulled each button free. "What you got under there, Miss Full-of-Surprises?" Annie bit the inside of her lip as she undid the last button and pulled the coat open to show him.

"You said you wanted a ring girl," she said, slipping the jacket off her shoulders and letting it fall to the floor. "Will this suffice?"

**End**

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**A/N – **_Oh no you di'ent! Oh yes I did. I stopped before the smut. I feel like this is a lesson in restraint for me. _

_**I may or may not write a companion piece with all of the smut. I'm a restraint novice. _


End file.
